Brick by Brick
by Forever Written in the Stars
Summary: So they gathered their strength and began to pick up the pieces even though they didn't know where they were headed, but somehow, they all still found their way to the places they belonged.
1. Prologue

The war ended with everyone there to bear witness, a far cry from the beginning which had started in the quiet dark of a graveyard with only the audience of a maniac's followers and a fourteen-year-old boy.

The war ended, and he was gone, but somehow, as they all saw Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry lying in ruins scattered around their feet, the knowledge that he was gone, that it was all over was hardly enough, because even now, it wasn't over, not by a long shot.

So they gathered their strength and began to pick up the pieces even though they didn't know where they were headed, but somehow, they all still found their way to the places they belonged.


	2. Easy Silence  Harry&Ginny

Author's Note: Here's the first actual chapter. Sorry it took so long. Please read and review :)

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><p>The next day, it rains. The sky is covered in a blanket of leaden grey, but somehow, as people bustle around the castle tending to the wounded, gathering supplies, and beginning restoration efforts, there's still hope, as if people think that the pain will wash away as the rain pours down to Earth. Maybe, they're hoping for too much, but they need to hope for something if they plan to come out of this.<p>

Harry Potter, the hero, steals a moment away from everything – the press, the questions, the endless stream of thanks. He's so, so tired, because it's been a year from hell, and he just wants to disappear, to somehow escape it all, jump on his broom and fly away, never look back, go somewhere where no one knows his name, where no one looks twice at the lightning bolt scar emblazoned across his forehead.

He can't do any of that, though, not in good conscience, so he settles for the next best thing: a stolen moment, all to himself, and he justifies it by reasoning that he's spent his life fighting a battle for others. He thinks he can take a small moment just for himself.

He pushes open the heavy, solid oak doors, because somehow, even in all the chaos, the doors still stand, strong and tall and protective. He breathes in the clean smell of the pouring rain and steps outside. Immediately, the cold rain falls and cascades down his skin. It chills him to the bone, but for some reason, he's oddly comforted by the sensation. He feels the dirt and grime layering his skin start to wash away, and he feels almost clean for the first time in months.

He stares out at the grounds, which are barely recognizable after the destruction that occurred just yesterday. Brick and wood, remains of the castle, remains of a home, are strewn around the lawn, sinking deeply into the torn and burnt grass. Parts of the Forbidden Forest have been obliterated, either by uncontrollable magic fires or by rampaging giants, and Hagrid's hut, one of Harry's favorite refuges is also in ruins.

He stands there for awhile, just looking, trying to calm the thoughts racing through his head. It's a long time before he notices her, sitting on the banks of the lake, fiery red hair soaked and messy, tears staining freckled cheeks, brown eyes sad and dull, not sparking with life.

He doesn't think first. It's not a break with the norm. He's fairly impulsive and Hermione's not here to dissuade him from any reckless decisions so he does what he thinks he should, consequences be damned: he walks over and sits on the banks of the lake right next to her. He regrets it, not because he's here with her, but because the ground is wet and he can already feel the wetness creeping into the fabric of his jeans. He doesn't have an extra pair, but at this point, his clothing is already fairly ragged so he doesn't think the wet will make a difference. Besides, he's with her, and he thinks that maybe, that's all that matters.

He watches as she looks up to find him sitting next to her and sees the question in her eyes. He's not sure what she's trying to ask so he's hard-pressed to give an answer.

He doesn't try.

He bridges the distance between him, one hand on her cheek, the other in her hair, and drops a light kiss on her lips. He knows it's cheesy, but he feels like everything fades away, everything but him and her and this. He wants to stay there, in a world where she's the only thing that matters, the only person that has expectations of him.

It ends, though, because she pulls away and just focuses her brown eyes on his green ones and she's asking the same question he couldn't find an answer to earlier. He still hasn't found one, hasn't even realized what she's trying to ask so the silence hangs between them because he doesn't know how to answer unspoken questions.

"What are we?" she asks, and he almost sighs in relief, not because the answer will be easy, but because he finally knows what she wants. He thinks, that maybe, he can work with this.

He looks at her, sees the crease on her forehead in between her eyes and senses her nervousness hanging in the heavy, rain-soaked air between them, and realizes that quite a lot, where they'll go from here, depends on his answer, and it's almost more pressure than being the savior of the magical world. It's a shocking revelation, but true, nonetheless, because this is Ginny who matters more than any of those faceless people who expect the world of him. She just wants _him_, Harry, _not_ Harry Potter – _and yes, there is a difference_. Somehow, that makes all the difference. What she wants is so simple, so easy, compared to what the rest of the world wants, but he still fears failing her more than he does failing the world.

Maybe, it makes him selfish, the fact that a girl's more important than the world, but he thinks that maybe, he's earned the right to be just a little bit selfish.

He finally speaks, because he figures that he's already made her wait long enough.

"I didn't sleep last night," he says, "Was up all night thinking, and I realized that I have no idea where to go from here – "

Her features turn to ice and she gets up and says, "I get it. You need time to think," and he's so shocked that he almost doesn't realize she's getting up and that she's walking away from him, just like how he walked away from her.

He has to scramble to his feet and almost slips in the mud as he struggles to stand and catch up with her, finally grabbing her wrist when he catches up to her.

"You didn't let me finish," he says, his green eyes searching her warm brown ones, silently asking if she's still willing to listen.

She nods, almost imperceptibly so he goes on.

"Look, Hermione says I have a 'saving-people' thing, and I guess that's why I couldn't let you come with us. I couldn't let you get hurt, and I guess I wasn't thinking clearly, because I thought I was saving you by breaking up with you," he gets the mangled apology out quickly, hoping she won't leave before continuing, "And I said I didn't know what I want, and that's true. I didn't plan on a life after this. I didn't think my odds were great, and so now, I don't know what to do now that it's all over, but I do know one thing," he says, reaching out to grasp her hand and lace their fingers together, "I know that I want _you_ by my side while I figure it out."

She smiles and he smiles nervously back before she places the briefest of kisses across his lips. She pulls away and he wants to grab her and pull her back toward him and kiss her until the rest of the world disappears, but he knows she's about to say something and he should listen.

"I want to be with you," she says, "but you need to stop trying to protect me. I'm just as strong as Ron, and maybe, I'm not as smart as Hermione, but I'm just as strong… you – I – you broke up with me last summer, and I told myself that I wouldn't wait for you, that I was done – Merlin Harry, I've been waiting since I was eleven – but then, you're always there and I can't stay away – and I guess what I'm trying to say is – that I love you and – and I don't think I could stop if I tried," and in the end she's smiling and a grin is splitting his face, and they end up kissing as the rain pours down.

Maybe, it's cliché, but it's also magic.

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><p>EDITED: 614/2012; 7:07 PM EST


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